Vandals hit Quincy church

QUINCY – The pastor of a Wollaston church vandalized early Wednesday was both furious and grateful as she surveyed the smashed windows and damaged doors.

“It’s horrible. It’s infuriating,” said the Rev. Susan Jarek-Glidden, pastor at Quincy Community United Methodist Church on Beale Street. “But it could have been infinitely worse. Nobody got hurt. They could have set fires, and they could have trashed the sanctuary.”

Quincy police, who are investigating the vandalism, said the person or people responsible face charges of malicious damage of property and breaking and entering at night.

The church custodian spotted the vandalism as he made his rounds late Wednesday morning and found seven windows smashed in with rocks, glass strewn over the velvet-cushioned pews and the second-floor gymnasium ransacked.

“Our janitor was heartbroken and crying,” Jarek-Glidden said.

Two stained-glass windows were broken, spraying shards of colored glass onto the floor and some pews.

Nothing was stolen from the church, said Jarek-Glidden, who suspects that much of the damage was done from outside.

Vandals used a heavy cobblestone and smaller stones, taken from a pet memorial in the church’s front yard, to smash in the metal-framed glass panes, she said, pointing to the stones.

The gym, which doubles as a center for youth groups, was also targeted. Couches and tables were upended on the basketball court. Broken glass from a wall clock littered the wood floor, and board games and their tiny pieces were flung about the gym.

One of the games was “Clue: A Classic Detective Game,” whose cards were sprayed across the floor near a small stage.

But Jarek-Glidden seemed less interested in the “whodunit” of this crime and most focused on another question.

“It’s a deep sigh of like, why?” she said.

Jarek-Glidden now knows what this Sunday’s sermon will focus on – the implications of this act.

This is the second time in the last several months that the church has been victimized by crime. In December, someone stole a laptop computer and cash donations from the church.

Quincy police Sgt. Patrick Faherty is asking anyone with information about the incident to call detectives at 617-745-5764.